Women, 89, 77, found dead in South Road home
Three held with victim’s stolen phone
Constance Fraser, 89
Murdered:
Phyllis Caesar, 77
Police appear to be on the verge of cracking the brutal murder of 89-year-old Constance Fraser, and 77-year-old Phyllis Caesar, whose bound and gagged bodies were found at around 09.00hrs yesterday in their Lot 243 Albert Street and South Road residence.
Detectives reportedly tracked down three young men, who were reportedly using a phone belonging to Mrs. Fraser. At press time, the suspects were being subjected to intense interrogation.
The women were members of the South Road Full Gospel Assembly, located a few doors from their home. Kaieteur News was told that Mrs. Caesar acted as caretaker for the church, and had the code for the church alarm. She also kept the keys for a nearby school in Regent Street.
A resident said that the gruesome crime was discovered when a church member turned up and was unable to gain access to the church since the alarm was on. He then enquired about Mrs. Caesar’s whereabouts. On checking at the Regent Street school, residents found the school locked and children standing outside.
They also observed that the gate to the elderly women’s residence was locked. Residents contacted ranks at the Alberttown Police Station. Detectives, using a ladder, climbed onto the verandah, where they discovered that a door leading to the verandah was open.
On entering the premises, they found the house ransacked, then located the trussed-up and bound bodies of the two elderly women in separate rooms.
It is believed that the killers gained entry to the premises by climbing into the verandah and forcing open the same door that the police found unlocked.
Mrs. Fraser’s son-in-law, Reginald Daniels, said that the women were bound with strips of cloth. He was unable to say what the killers took, but said he was puzzled that items such as a television set was left behind, and a ring was left intact on one of the women’s fingers.
Mr. Daniels said that he last spoke with Mrs. Fraser, whom he called ‘Grandma’, last Friday. He described her as a “God fearing, gentle soul,” who had resided at her Albert and South road home for some 50 years.
Mr. Daniels revealed that thieves had broken into the home about three months ago. Relatives had installed a door and suggested to Mrs. Fraser that an alarm be installed and a guard be employed at nights.
But Mrs. Fraser, a devout Christian, declined the offer.
“She said ‘no, God will protect me,” Mr. Daniels recalled.
Distraught friends and members of the South Road Full Gospel Assembly who turned up at the scene repeatedly questioned why the intruders had killed the elderly women, who had posed no threat to them.
Constance Fraser is said to be survived by eight children, who all reside overseas.
Over the years, several elderly women and men who lived alone have been slain by robbers. Many of the cases remain unsolved.